TVA has a tale of a bungled gas station holdup in St‑Léonard.
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Kate
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Kate
A sidekick of notorious contract killer Frederick Silva has pleaded guilty to helping Silva get a fake passport after a killing in 2017, with an eye to helping him escape justice, although the items go on to say Silva was nabbed while walking around in Old Montreal in 2019.
Girard Anglade was sentenced to 37 months, but doesn’t have to go back to prison because of time already served.
We’ve talked about an aspect of this story before on the blog: gangsters, knowing enemies or cops – or both – are after them, and with the means to hop a plane and disappear abroad, instead hang around town until somebody either nabs them or shoots them. Imponderable.
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Kate
People living near the collapsed building on Van Horne say they warned the borough it didn’t look safe. TVA says the street is still blocked off.
12:30: La Presse says the adjoining building has also fallen down!
Tim
« On a reçu une seule plainte à l’effet la structure semblait dangereuse avant l’effondrement, en janvier 2023 […] On a été réactifs et envoyé un inspecteur qui a exigé un rapport d’ingénieurs. La conclusion, c’est que c’était stable et sécuritaire», se défend le maire d’Outremont, Laurent Desbois.
Show us the paperwork. I don’t believe this for a second.
Nicholas
I bet the dissembling here is that “plainte” refers to a specific kind of action, like a signed letter with your address to the building inspector and that specifically references which building code sections are potentially in breech. Emails to councillors, public comment at meetings, verbal warnings to an administrator at the borough hall don’t count, or something like that. The fact their defence is they’re reactive and not proactive shows this. And action gets muddied along the chain. A quote I like from Yes, Minister: “It’s well known that in the British Foreign Office an instruction from the Prime Minister becomes a request from the Foreign Secretary, then a recommendation from the Minister of State and, finally, just a suggestion to the ambassador. If it ever gets that far.”
DeWolf
Heads better roll… there was some gross negligence at play here both on the part of the borough and the developer.
Ian
That was a controlled “collapse”, there were backhoes and trucks all over the site all day yesterday. The structure was obvioulsy weakened and at a guesss simply declared unsafe. It didn’t just fall over into the street like the first one. There were 3 firetrucks there around 1, though it wasn’t clear why as the debris had been cleared.
Kate
Thanks, Ian
DeWolf
Thanks for the clarification Ian, the initial reports made it sound like it collapsed unexpectedly.
DisgruntledGoat
@Tim In fact I learned recently that documents relating to any building in a borough can be obtained through an access to information request that anyone can make via email. You can see everything including permits and inspections.
Each borough office has an email inbox to write to and turnaround time is a 2 to a few weeks.
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Kate
Weekend notes from CityCrunch, CultMTL, Sarah’s Weekend List.
The Papineau-Leblanc bridge will be closed all weekend. Other highway closures.
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Kate
Artists were coaxed into taking studio spaces in an ugly but serviceable building in St‑Michel in 2021 with a promise that the reasonable rents would only rise to match inflation. It was a hollow promise, rents now rising fast, and tenants planning to end their leases and leave.
Ian
If they got public grants for this, shouldn’t they be obligated to repay them if they are n’t holding up their end of the deal?
Sounds like a bait & switch on multiple levels, some of which sound suspicioulsy like fraud.
DeWolf
Interesting story because it’s not your typical speculation narrative. The building is run by a non-profit so it’s not profiteering. Management is blaming rising interest rates and tax hikes on the soaring costs, but the city is giving them an annual $150k subsidy to cover any rising taxes.
So… mismanagement?
Ian
I guess? Still, 35% “inflation” is awfully suspicious.
DeWolf
Maybe they had a really bad financing deal and got hit especially hard with the rise in interest rates. Or maybe somebody was lining their pockets. Either way there needs to be an investigation to make sure public money wasn’t misused…
Ian
At a certain point, incompetence is as bad as malice.
jeather
If interest rates and tax hikes are actually causing the problem, it’s very very easy to prove.
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Kate
Denis Leblanc was found guilty Thursday of killing his sisters in October 2020, plus attempting to kill a neighbour and two cops. “Le juge l’a condamné à une peine d’emprisonnement à perpétuité” – I didn’t think that was allowed.
steph
It may be called “life in prison”, but always with possibility of parole in 25. Unfortunately I think they made it so the sentences (of each murder) couldn’t be consecutive.
Let’s see what the parole board in 25 years will decide. Hes 63, I expect he will rot in prison.
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